PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.10.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PG&E in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Insider Activity at PG&E

In other news, CEO Patricia K. Poppe sold 55,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $1,147,766.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,460,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,168,186.52. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PG&E

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. King Street Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,964,250,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 17.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 101,910,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,779,352,000 after purchasing an additional 14,998,472 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in PG&E by 5.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 176,839,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,496,115,000 after purchasing an additional 8,604,396 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in PG&E by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,953,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,155,093,000 after purchasing an additional 5,191,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON lifted its position in PG&E by 45.6% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 12,643,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $249,954,000 after buying an additional 3,958,495 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PG&E Stock Performance

NYSE:PCG opened at $19.88 on Wednesday. PG&E has a 52-week low of $15.94 and a 52-week high of $21.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.52 and its 200 day moving average is $19.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. PG&E had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. PG&E’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PG&E will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

PG&E Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from PG&E’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.81%.

About PG&E

PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, engages in the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers in northern and central California, the United States. It generates electricity using nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired, fuel cell, and photovoltaic sources.